Casino Gambler`s Blog for everybody! Visit my blog!

Your wager selection will be influenced by the payout hierarchy. This is the part on the machines which shows the graduated scale of payments, and bonuses offered. This information is usually found under the “pays” menu icon on video reel slots, and on the belly glass of reel slots. It tells you what amounts the game pays, how and when, and with what combinations. Further, it shows you whether this is a “doubler” or a “buy-a-pay” machine or game.

Some of these machines and games may look the same but have a different payout hierarchy. This we have already discussed. Don’t forget to look at this payout hierarchy and make sure that you understand what it means and how it will affect your bankroll, your play and session investment, and your win expectation. You acquire this understanding by combining all of the information shown here and applying it to your overall machine or game selection.

This is an agency contracted by many casinos to aid in identifying, thwarting, and catching thieves, casino cheats, and - as sad as this sounds - card counters. Watch any current television show highlighting the surveillance technology of a modern-day casino and there’s a better than average chance you’ll hear the name or see an agent from this company working in conjunction with some casino’s security force.

Years ago, the agency developed the infamous Griffin “mug book” containing the names, pictures, and associates of undesirables, includ-ing card counters, that are considered threats to casino operations. Many of the photos and mug shots on file of card counters are pictures taken by the client casino’s own video surveillance system, and shared with the Griffin agency. Today’s version of the book is electronic. One television documentary showed a live video surveillance feed from an Australian casino to the car of one of Griffin’s most famous agents, whereupon the individual under surveillance was compared to every-one in an existing electronic database. A match resulted in the agent’s revealing all information on file about the player to the client casino, which then allowed casino personnel to decide on what action would be most appropriate.

Thus, if you’re a card counter and you’re in the Griffin database, your risk of being barred, backed off, or experiencing any kind of counter-measure is a lot more likely than it would be for a counter who has managed to stay out of it. A listing of those casinos that subscribe to Griffin can be found in Stanford Wong’s Current Blackjack News.